After spending the night in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, NSA leaker Edward Snowden did not board the Aeroflot flight he had been expected to take to Havana. His plan was apparently to fly to the Cuban capital and then to go on to Ecuador (where he had requested asylum). Snowden's whereabouts remain unknown.

It may be that Snowden and his friends from WikiLeaks—who helped him secure a “special refugee travel document” last week from Ecuadorian authorities and assisted with his trip from Hong Kong to Moscow—have an alternate travel route in mind. There is also the possibility that he is being detained by Russian authorities.

The State Department had revoked Snowden’s American passport on Friday, which is normal for persons with “felony arrest warrants.”

“Such a revocation does not affect citizenship status,” Jen Psaki, a State Department spokesperson told Ars. “Persons wanted on felony charges, such as Mr. Snowden, should not be allowed to proceed in any further international travel other than is necessary to return him to the United States. Because of the Privacy Act, we cannot comment on Mr. Snowden's passport specifically."

The Washington Post pointed out that Aeroflot’s regularly scheduled flight would have taken the commercial jet over Norwegian, Canadian, and American airspace before landing in Havana: “But if the plane uses a different flight plan—north toward the Arctic and then south over the middle of the Atlantic Ocean—the Russian authorities will have directly participated in Snowden’s escape."

US Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking to reporters in India where he is on a state visit, said it would be “deeply troubling” if China or Russia had adequate notice of Snowden’s plans before his departure.

"I suppose there is no small irony here,” Kerry added. “I mean, I wonder if Mr. Snowden chose China and Russian assistance in his flight from justice because they're such powerful bastions of Internet freedom, and I wonder if while he was in either of those countries he raised the question of Internet freedom since that seems to be what he champions."

Cyrus Farivar
Cyrus is the Senior Business Editor at Ars Technica, and is also a radio producer and author. His latest book, Habeas Data, about the legal cases over the last 50 years that have had an outsized impact on surveillance and privacy law in America, is due out in May 2018 from Melville House. Emailcyrus.farivar@arstechnica.com//Twitter@cfarivar

I'm getting so sick of these comments from politicians (some of whom I used to have the tiniest bit of respect for). They are so attached to the establishment and so afraid to speak out of the party line.

We all lose a little bit of freedom when we let them get away with such insidious comments.

Those comments by Mr. Kerry are ludicrous. At some point you have to realize that the enemies of your enemy are your friends (by default). Everyone has an agenda, you can't take on everybody just on principle. He already picked the fight of his life.

This story is bugging me more and more. In my view, government whistleblowers are no different than corporate whistleblowers, and Snowden should be afforded the same protections, not become the subject of an international manhunt.

I doubt Russia has detained him. Unless Putin is trying to leverage another Super Bowl ring.

Right now, it's over oceanic airspace, so the location is estimate. Depends on which FIR the plane is in, whether Flightaware will show actual data for it. It should show up again (as a green line) halfway between Iceland and Greenland.

As you can see, the flight plan has it traversing the United States today. The US could deny the overflight if Snowden was on the plane.

Some days the route doesn't cross the US - (click on June 20th) - that depends on winds aloft, weather and other reasons. The airline has the discretion on which route to file, for whatever reason they want.

Snowden seeking refuge wherever he can find it, even if the nation in question violates some of his core values, hardly negates the moral repugnance of what the United States has done.

I'm really sick of media and government throwing out the hypocrisy defense. It's like saying if Daniel Ellsberg had been a pedophile then it would have invalidated his leak of the Pentagon Papers, which is ridiculous. Wrong is wrong, regardless of who points it out.

"I suppose there is no small irony here,” Kerry added. “I mean, I wonder if Mr. Snowden chose China and Russian assistance in his flight from justice because they're such powerful bastions of Internet freedom, and I wonder if while he was in either of those countries he raised the question of Internet freedom since that seems to be what he champions."

Nice straw-man argument, Mr Kerry. Exposing the wrongdoings of the US government is not the same as championing Internet freedom. Don't change the f...ing subject.

Besides, where's all this moral superiority over other nations coming from all of a sudden? As Secretary of State, one of Kerry's big jobs is propping up the corrupt despots that happen to further US policy, and funneling billions in cash and weapons into unstable regions of the world

Don't assume that something has happened when it hasn't. The next story reported in the media could very well carry the headline - "Edward Snowden arrested and turned over to U.S. officials at U.S. embassy in Moscow." or similar.

It is not unheard of for the Russian authorities to physically take an American citizen to the U.S. embassy to 'clarify' his status when he does not have a verifiable or valid passport.

"I suppose there is no small irony here,” Kerry added. “I mean, I wonder if Mr. Snowden chose China and Russian assistance in his flight from justice because they're such powerful bastions of Internet freedom, and I wonder if while he was in either of those countries he raised the question of Internet freedom since that seems to be what he champions."

Pretty amusing how so many public figures are gloating over the countries which Snowden might be headed to. They're so busy shooting the messenger that they're missing what the broader perception of this will be internationally- that a man who exposed government wrong-doing is fleeing to countries that they criticize for rights violations. Capturing Snowden would be a Pyrrhic victory at this point.

The government is repeating the same mistake that it did with Ellsberg (and others) by aiming to prosecute Snowden. Unfortunately, Snowden won't be able to count on a mistrial if the government catches up to him.

According to the WSJ, Snowden seems to have been in Ecuador custody since the moment he landed in Moscow (literally driven off the tarmac in a diplomatic vehicle).

Since Ecuador doesn't seem willing to stuff Assange into a diplomatic pouch and "mail" him to Ecuador, they are unlikely to do the same for Snowden. However, with Snowden's whereabouts unknown, it's possible they will attempt to smuggle him in some other fashion.

According to the WSJ, Snowden seems to have been in Ecuador custody since the moment he landed in Moscow (literally driven off the tarmac in a diplomatic vehicle).

Since Ecuador doesn't seem willing to stuff Assange into a diplomatic pouch and "mail" him to Ecuador, they are unlikely to do the same for Snowden. However, with Snowden's whereabouts unknown, it's possible they will attempt to smuggle him in some other fashion.

It's sad that the conversation is about Edward Snowden's whereabouts, rather than the actual spying activities of the NSA and GCHQ.

Repeated for effect.

The administration has been extremely successful in getting the press to make this a story about Snowden, and not a story about the information he's released. Initially, I though this was under Snowden's own volition. Now, however, I think that it is the powers-that-be looking to deflect. They are winning.

Presumably "Mr. Snowden" hasn't "raised the question of Internet freedom" in China and Russia because (a) he isn't responsible for the regimes in those countries, (b) he has no information on either the policies or illegal activities of those regimes, and (c) he cannot afford to speak out against those regimes while he is being hounded across the globe by the agents of the regime of his own country. Rather obvious really, isn't it Mr. Kerry?

So, having followed this quite a bit; it seems like the only sources saying he took the flight to Moscow is Wikileaks and Ecuador. Some people on the plane said they hadn't seen him, noone saw him leave the airport and there's been no photos of him in Moscow. I think he want somewhere completely different and this is all just smoke and mirrors.

It's sad that the conversation is about Edward Snowden's whereabouts, rather than the actual spying activities of the NSA and GCHQ.

Repeated for effect.

The administration has been extremely successful in getting the press to make this a story about Snowden, and not a story about the information he's released. Initially, I though this was under Snowden's own volition. Now, however, I think that it is the powers-that-be looking to deflect. They are winning.

Essentially using Snowden the man as a red herring to take out the legs of the story from under Snowden The Whistleblower.

Presumably "Mr. Snowden" hasn't "raised the question of Internet freedom" in China and Russia because (a) he isn't responsible for the regimes in those countries, (b) he has no information on either the policies or illegal activities of those regimes, and (c) he cannot afford to speak out against those regimes while he is being hounded across the globe by the agents of the regime of his own country. Rather obvious really, isn't it Mr. Kerry?

Uhhhh...Kerry was being 'tounge in cheek', sarchastic.

Then he was being a douchfus...Maybe he should search Hillary's closet to see if he can find her moronic photo-op Reset Button prop.

Czar Putin was once a high ranking KGB. I am sure he knows ways to get from point A to point B without being spotted. Now, Mr Snowedman needs to disappear for 2 weeks or so in order for the world to focus on his leaks instead. He needs to focus on his agenda to reveal more leaks. He shouldn't take anything the US politicians are saying too personal. Once you get too personal, you will make mistakes.

The Washington Post pointed out that Aeroflot’s regularly scheduled flight would have taken the commercial jet over Norwegian, Canadian, and American airspace before landing in Havana: “But if the plane uses a different flight plan—north toward the Arctic and then south over the middle of the Atlantic Ocean—the Russian authorities will have directly participated in Snowden’s escape."

So... are they saying that they'd force the plane to land if it flew over US airspace?

Russia is an ideal place for Snowden to disappear. If they manage to get him out of the airport he'll basically be a free man as long as he has someone with him, who speaks Russian, and has enough money. From there he can go wherever he wants. He can even disappear somewhere in Siberia or in other former Soviet republics.

According to me the longer he stays at the airport the greater the chances that he will get deported to the US. The Russians don't really care about US spies and whistleblowers*. They have enough of their own problems.

The Washington Post pointed out that Aeroflot’s regularly scheduled flight would have taken the commercial jet over Norwegian, Canadian, and American airspace before landing in Havana: “But if the plane uses a different flight plan—north toward the Arctic and then south over the middle of the Atlantic Ocean—the Russian authorities will have directly participated in Snowden’s escape."

So... are they saying that they'd force the plane to land if it flew over US airspace?

Well.. you put it so strongly. I suspect it would be more like you can't fly over our airspace unless you agree to be escorted by fighter jets to the nearest airport due to a suspected terrorist. Of course you could just fly around our airspace instead (and run out of fuel).